Office

This way that, eyes like a cat
All sides of a room like a map
Roam thru stations, tail swish
Ears spin to catch a hot dish
Grown ass folks on some high school ish
Checks clear, what I gotta work with

Good typa problems, daily grind
Driftin on the bus, dream in rhymes
Thinkin bout code at the exact same time
Headphones in the mines blastin mines
Stay rackin lines like I’m passin time
Some things never change, tragic mimes

See the edge of never pullin up out of theory
Gettin older never felt so near me
Thinkin bout some places and some faces
Some I’ll never see again can’t quite face it
Hangin onto day ones for dear life
Learn to let go and not think twice

Night time fire pit smoke with a whiskey
Rocks, all she wrote, clean to the socks
Legs with the tights and the rump just right
Givin me the rhythm like I just might
Wild for the spice with the appetite
The morning got weird, didn’t land it right

Downtown lobby, heady throbby
Gonna be a long fuckin day at the jobby
Shoulda had a water tried to piss some out
Jump into a meeting try to talk my route
Day in half gear till Im outta here
Back to the spot let it all disappear

Till then
This way that, eyes still track
Made a little name as the Chicago cat
Odd little kingdom, tail swish
Checks clear, coins gotta click

Revels

Lemme get that

I keep with that steady steady,
Adobe shit I’m ready ready,
Builds I got plenty plenty,
Pit boss has already met me,

I’m out with that Dazy gentry,
Handsome fucks you envy envy,
Buy the round and get me friendly,
Flyest sound around no use pretending

Up to the same old flame with the brain hold
Cup run a flood for the love of the game blow
Chains of the same gold, reign of a brave soul
A love supreme for the message in the main role

I keep with that steady steady
MIDI clocks we ready ready

Regular

I been gettin money on the reg, reg, regular

Island off an alley with the lights on lonely
Family in the house, cheese and macaroni
Up again with Ableton, workin on my tickys
Muted nonsense with Julian, Bubbles and Ricky

Boom from the 3rd gen Battery I utilized
Hits get crunched out, kicks get brutalized
Breaks off the 2500 MIDI supervise
Finally realize the dreams of youthful pride

Coffee on the skydecks with empire builders
Level up the layer cake, elite hired killers
On track with the contracts and the bombast
Not a drop of sweat on a monthly note for Comcast

More the same for almost 8 years
Flash ran everything, then it disappeared
And this badass ActionScript hacker impassioned with
A savage gift smashed it and cracked the establishment

Rack em at Rialto, two off the break
Lunch and libations for 88’s the great
Spark the DeLorean, back in time
Gun range in Clackamas, rackin a 9

Dirt pit in Washington, squeezin off rounds
Still dig in junk bins for sounds to be found
Still puttin words together while I walk around the town
Still coppin corner CD’s to feed the underground

Dizzy got a brand new bang with his slang

I can’t believe it’s been a dime since 09
Before it went bust, all tryin to be fine
Foregone finales end the same every time
No use in delusion, no use for illusion

Flowers and gats, mixtapes and spoiler posts
Days in the saltmine styling up the royal host
Once-in-a-while, hooky with the day at the coast
Talkin trash with the kids, Mario Kart roasts

Egg on toast, I made it a votive
Years soppin up the yolks, I stayed devoted

Last

It’s a very melancholy and romantic concept, “the last time”, the reality rarely meets the expectation. Disengaging from my old life and building my new life were not simple single moments, there was no Great Switch that was thrown, it was a lot of little switches along the way. But each little switch was a connection, and many have remained closed.

The last time I was at Dr Wax, also the last time I saw Brandie in person. Many of us went back to Evanston to say goodbye to a record store that had been our nest for years.

Another life and another nest, the last time I shopped at 360 Vinyl, talking hip hop with the DJ who owned the store. Pretty sure his name was Dave, I’d see him on the bus periodically after.

The last time I was at that little cafe on Fremont next to Peter’s, the owner was an energetic little pixie, very bright and bubbly, a former promoter with a thousand unlikely tales of local scenes

The last time my babydev group walked from the Bookhouse to restaurant row on Burnside, arguing about which mediocre eatery would provide us that day our daily bread.

The last time The Three Kings from Evanston all rolled into a dive bar to grab a greasy hangover breakfast and watched the Bears play, or the last time we all played music together.

The last time I flew from Chicago to Portland and felt like I was leaving home instead of going to it.

These things all happen so slowly, so quietly, one small tick at a time. That’s why it’s so rare that you know it’s the last time, when it’s the last time.

Chapters

This is for Caprices and the Crown Vics
All the way from The Wild to the E-Township